


Everlasting love and everlasting locks

by FinleyHerondale



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-16 12:08:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18521209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FinleyHerondale/pseuds/FinleyHerondale
Summary: Magnus has to tell Alec that he has to move to another country and that he will never see him again. But before Magnus leaves they put up a lock as a sign for their eternal love.Now, what happens when Magnus returns?





	Everlasting love and everlasting locks

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based on a tweet by @/daddariobws on twitter:  
> "Alec and Magnus go to the same school, they are in love, but Magnus has to move to another country with his family. some years later he comes back and the first thing he does is visiting the spot where he and his first love left a lock, but what happens when he finds Alec there?"

Magnus swallowed. Then he put his shaking hand on the door handle. He had invited Alec to The Dot, their usual café. They had sat here so often, talking about everything and nothing. And today was going to be the last day.

Magnus heard the familiar bell ring as he opened the shop's door and he saw a familiar black-haired boy sitting at their familiar table. The black-haired boy turned around as he heard the doorbell ring. Alec had been waiting for him. There were already two steaming cups of coffee standing on the table.

The barista, Maia, knew both of their coffee orders by heart. They had become friends with her over all their hours spent at The Dot. She sometimes even told customers to move tables as the one on the podium by the philodendron was basically reserved for Magnus and Alec at all times.

Everything about this image should have been like every other day. But it wasn't. Because every other day Magnus heart wouldn't be hammering against his chest, at least not in a booming, painful way and every other day hadn’t been the last. 

Magnus went up to his and Alec's table and sat down on his chair. His leg immediately started to nervously shake up and down. He stared into his coffee, trying not to look at Alec. He wasn't sure if he would manage to tell him why he had come here but he had to. He tried to remember the words he had sorted out before he had entered the café but they all seemed to have stayed out on the street. They were just out of his head.

“Hello?”, Alec asked. In the corner his eye Magnus saw how Alec tilted his head. He was inspecting him. “Everything okay?”, Alec asked. He had obviously picked up on Magnus mood.

“I'm-", Magnus started. _I'm fine_ , he wanted to say. But the words got stuck in his throat. He wasn't fine. And Alec knew. How was he going to have this conversation? Any why was he so worried? His father had told that the people in New York would forget him anyway. Whilst he couldn't imagine Alec ever forgetting him or himself forgetting Alec, his father was probably right.

“Hey", Alec said, in his soft voice that he didn't use with a lot of people. Magnus knew how privileged he was to get to hear that voice as often as he did. Alec laid his hand on top of Magnus's, which was resting on the wooden table. It was comforting, but something about the touch made Magnus want to drag his hand away. It felt wrong to get this kind of comfort while he was keeping Alec in the dark. 

“Hey", Alec said again. This time he gently put his other hand under Magnus chin, which finally made Magnus look up to Alec. As he did, he wanted to burn the image he saw into his head. Alec in their café, his hair messy, his eyes caring and so full of love. He wanted to hold on to the image, never forget it no matter what was about to happen.

“I might be able to cheer you up", Alec let his hand fall from Magnus chin, instead he used it to point up, as if he just remembered something, and he started to smile. “Because I have to tell you something. Remember that concert you-"  
“No, I have to tell you something", Magnus interrupted.

Alec's smile dropped. So did his hand. Good conversations rarely ever started with ‘ _I have to tell you something_ ' in the voice Magnus had used.  
“I have to move. To another country", Magnus managed to say. He didn't manage to say it while looking Alec into the eyes though, instead he was focused on their hands, their fingers entwined. 

“What do you mean? When?”, Alec asked. Magnus took a deep breath.  
“Tomorrow morning", he said. This time he looked deep into Alec’s eyes.  
“Are you serious?”, Alec's voice sounded small. Magnus just nodded for an answer.

“Why didn't you tell me before?”, Alec asked. He somehow managed to not make the question sound judgmental but concerned.  
“I only found out yesterday", Magnus said.  
“That explains why you were so weird yesterday"  
“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry", Magnus said, he looked down again.

“No, no", said Alec, “Don't be sorry it's not your fault." He took his hand out of Magnus’s and cupped Magnus face with his warm fingers. Magnus leaned into the touch, trying to relish every little touch that he got from Alec that could be his last. 

“We can still stay in contact wherever you're moving right?”, Alec asked. Of course he was already trying to fix the problem. But there was no fixing it.  
“No. I wish, but it won't be possible. I'm moving because of my father. I'm sorry I can't tell you why or where. I can't tell you anything. So, please don't ask questions I won't be able to answer. I'm not allowed to stay in contact with anyone from here. I'm sorry", Magnus said. 

“So this is really it", Alec’s voice sounded so terribly sad. It was like a dagger to Magnus heart. He had never meant to hurt Alec like this, even though it wasn’t his fault. “This is the end of Magnus and Alec", Alec said. Then he bit his lip.

The words hung between them for a while. Both of them hit by the realization of them and how final they sounded.  
“You said you were leaving tomorrow morning, right?”, Alec broke the silence.  
“Yes"

“That means-", Alec checked his watch, “we still got quite some time left. If these are really the last hours I'm going to have with you I'm not going to spend them crying in a café. Even if it's The Dot. Come on." With those words he stood up and held his hand out for Magnus to take it. Alec eyes glowed and Magnus was rushed over again by how much he loved Alec and by how much he was going to miss him. The feeling stung.

Then he took Alec's hand and Alec started dragging him to the door. The bell rang again as Alec swung the door open. It somehow sounded different to Magnus than just minutes before. Before it only gave the sound of hurt and darkness, now Alec's reaction made the bell sound hopeful to him.

“Maia!”, Alec called back as he was already half out of the door.  
“I already wrote the drinks down on your list, Lightwood", Maia yelled back.  
“Thanks!”, Alec turned around to the street again.  
“You do realize you have to pay these one day, right?”, Maia called after them but she sounded rather amused than actually concerned about not getting the money.

With the step out of the café an adventure through New York started. They visited all kinds of places that had meaning to them, and all kinds meant all kinds. Some of the places were nice restaurants they had visited, some were dark allies they definitely shouldn't have made out it, and they definitely shouldn't have made out in them again but for nostalgia reasons so it seemed okay. They shared all their old stories, even though they had both been their and they both knew perfectly well what had happened.

“Where are we going next?”, Magnus asked.  
“I have an idea. You wait here", Alec told him. Then he disappeared into another side street. He came out soon after.

“Okay let's go"  
“Wait, what did you do?”, Magnus asked.  
“You'll see. It's a surprise”, Alec told him excitedly.  
“I don't like surprises. The last one I got was that I am going to have to move to another country”, Magnus said.  
“You will like this one, trust me", Alec said.

And Magnus did trust him, so he followed Alec down the street. Then Alec stopped and pulled something out of his pocket.  
“Okay, here is something I wanted to do", Alec explained as he showed Magnus a golden lock he was holding in his hand.  
“Oh, you wanna lock me up", Magnus said jokingly. Alec drew his eyebrows together. “Good timing. Thought you'd never ask." 

“No, no", Alec took Magnus hand again and dragged him to what the lock was obviously meant for. Big letters spelled out the word L-O-V-E, with a heart in front of it. The letters and the heart were all kinds of colors from the locks that were hung in the iron grid the letters were originally made of. Now it looked like the sign was more made out of the love-locks than the iron grid. A love sign that got its look by the love locked into it.

Alec stopped in front of the heart.  
“You know, your father might rip us apart, but he won't be able to rip apart this lock.” He held out the lock for Magnus again, this time with the other side up.

“Aku cinta kamu", Magnus read out, softly. He stared at the lock and couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have had the chance to spend so much time with Alec. How insanely lucky he was to spend this last day with him.

“What?”, Alec asked. “Did I spell it wrong?”  
“No, I just- wow. How did you get that made so fast?” Magnus let his finger glide over the engraving.  
“I called the shop owner after we left the café. I actually picked the lock earlier, I've been planning this. The idea actually came to my mind the first day you told me what ‘Aku cinta kamu' meant. I just had go tell the shop owner that the lock had to be finished by tonight”, Alec explained.

“You've been planning this?”, Magnus asked. He was still a bit blown away. He had never thought that someone would ever actually plan something like this, but he shouldn't have been surprised about Alec anymore.

“Yes. As a sign for our everlasting love. And now also as a sign that no one can take away from us. Not ever”,  
“Eternal love", Magnus said while Alec put the lock into place and clicked it shut. Then Alec put his arm around Magnus’ shoulder, and Magnus looked up to Alec, kissing him softly before they made their way down to where Alec lived. They night wasn't over yet. They tried not to think about the morning.

***

Magnus took a deep breath of the New York air. Everything about this city was so familiar, yet it felt so different. And every street corner painfully reminded him of his past. Everything about this city screamed ‘Alec'. He had already felt that feeling on his way from the airport to his hotel. And then he realized where he first had to go. 

It was strange what coming back to this city after such a long time could do to him. All the emotions from the last day here came flooded back into him. And they just grew stronger the closer he got to the love sign. 

Would their lock even still be there? And where was Alec right now? Was he still in New York? Magnus had tried to look him up on social media before he had come here. But Alec never used his last name on there, and finding the one ‘Alexander from New York' was somewhat impossible. He had never forgotten Alec. Yes, he had tried to date after him but it never had been right. Not even close to right. No one clicked with him as much as Alec did, no one even came close to it.

Then Magnus finally saw the sign. It still looked the same. Big, multicolored letters. He felt his stomach tingle. He really was taken fully back.  
In front of the heart stood a tall man, with black, messy hair. Magnus placed himself next to him, searching for the lock Alec had hung up. To his surprise he found it in the man's hand. 

‘ _Aku cinta kamu_ ', was still readable on it. In general the lock looked less old than Magnus thought it would look by now. As if someone had taken care of it.  
Magnus followed up the arm that was attached to the hand holding the lock. His gaze wandered up until his eyes met big, surprised, hazel ones. He would recognize those eyes anywhere. He would recognized that face anywhere.

“Magnus?", Alec said in a deeper voice than Magnus remembered him having.  
“My Alexander", Magnus said at the same time.

“Is it really you? Are you really back?", Alec said as if he could not believe his eyes.  
“Yes, yes I am", Magnus answered. And that moment they both couldn't hold back. Alec let the lock fall and flung his arms around Magnus, Magnus doing just the same. 

Magnus buried his face in Alec's shoulder. The touch so familiar, yet new. Besides the fact that both him and Alec had grown up quite a bit, hugging Alec still gave Magnus the same feeling of security. He thought that he also smelled almost the same, but that might also be imagination.  
After a while they broke away from each other. 

“But- Since when are you back?”, Alec asked. He was still perplexed to have Magnus standing in from of him.  
Magnus checked his watch. “About two hours. Traffic is a bitch"  
“Two hours? When- Why-"  
“Listen, it's a long story. I don't know how much time your have"  
“Oh, I got enough time", Alec sounded almost offended that Magnus even asked if he had time for him. 

“Is The Dot still around?”, Magnus asked.  
“Oh, yeah, sure. Maia and Bat own the place now. But your story first, please.”  
“So”, Magnus started while they made their way to The Dot, “the reason why I had to move was that my father was a searched criminal. And he had to flee from the police. So no one could know where we went." Magnus expected Alec to tell him that he had lost his mind.

“Explains why the police questioned me about you and your father after you left. They said it was top secret", Alec said instead.

“But now they finally caught him. I had to go through a lot of trials and law things to prove that I had nothing to do with his activity, that he just dragged me along. But now I'm a free man”, Magnus explained.  
Alec asked for more details and Magnus told him everything that he wanted to know. And Alec also filled him in on everything he had missed in New York. Besides their topics, they talked like not a day had passed since they last saw each other. 

Then they reached The Dot and Alec swung the door open. The Dot had definitely gone through a make-over. It had whole new colors, new tables and chairs and there was a wall full of pictures that were hung up on the cables of fairy lights.  
But their table was still there. There even was still a philodendron. 

“Someone pinch me", Magnus heard a familiar voice. Then he saw Maia, older now, but definitely still Maia, come down to him and hug him. “It's really you", Maia said after taking a step back and inspecting Magnus.  
Then she looked at Alec. “Alec and Magnus, back at The Dot. I can't believe it.” She shook her head. “Sit down", she nodded over to their table, “I'll be right back."

Magnus and Alec went up on the podium and Magnus couldn't help but smile. He had spend so many hours here, drinking coffee, learning for tests, becoming a bit too intimate with Alec for a public café, being told by Maia to ‘Get a room!’.

Magnus sat down on his chair and so did Alec. And they looked up to each other, staring into each other eyes. Both taking a silent moment to process what was happening. And Magnus remembered the image he had in his head of young Alec. Alec's hair was still messy. And his eyes still had the same caring, loving look. 

Then Maia came back, with three cups of coffee. One for her, one for Alec, one for Magnus. Magnus took a sip. “You remembered", he said as he tasted his old coffee order. 

“Of course I did”, Maia said. “Man, you just disappeared without saying goodbye to me.”  
“I'm sorry”, Magnus said.  
“It's fine. I forgave you long ago. And Alec told me that you had to move. I just can't believe you're here right now", said Maia.  
“Me neither. I couldn't believe it was really Alec when I saw him on the street", Magnus said.  
“Alec and Magnus… you guys will really always find a way back to each other won't you?”

Magnus looked at Alec, who gave him a soft smile. Maybe Maia was right. Even after such a long time.  
“I wish I could have told you that when he left", Maia said to Alec. “He was a wreck", that part was directed at Magnus. Magnus felt the need to apologize again. But before he got to say something Maia jumped into telling him all the stuff he had missed and asking about thousand questions that Magnus was all willing to answer. 

“Oh I gotta show you something”, Maia then said. She jumped up from her chair and went up to the picture wall. Magnus followed. In the middle of the wall was a picture that was bigger than the rest. It showed him, Alec and Maia all sitting at their table. 

“No one here forgot you. No one even thought about forgetting you", Maia said.  
Magnus gently touched the picture. He had been gone for so long. They hadn't heard a word from him for so long. He hadn't even said goodbye to Maia. And yet she still decided to have a picture of him up in her café. 

Magnus looked back at his younger self, at Alec, at Maia. And he couldn't help it anymore. A tear rolled down his cheek and got caught in the corner of his smiling mouth.

All the time his father had told him that no one would care that he would be gone. That no one in New York would miss him or remember him. And while Magnus had fought against his fathers words, maybe some of them had gotten through to him. But those doubts that anyone in New York would actually care about him were destroyed in a second. 

He felt Alec next to him pull him into a hug. In the safety of Alec's arms Magnus just let his tears flow. “Thank you", he said, “for everything”  
They stood like that for a while, Alec's hand protective on the back of Magnus’ head. 

“Want to get out of here?”, Alec asked after Magnus had stopped crying. Magnus nodded.  
They went down to the door. Magnus noticed that The Dot even had a new bell for the door as he heard it rang when Alec opened the door.

“I'll write it down, Lightwood", Maia called from the shop, laughing.  
Alec and Magnus gave her a laugh back. Then Alec took Magnus hand and he walked in a direction Magnus knew all too well. “Are we going back?”, Magnus asked. “Yes", Alec answered shortly.

Magnus stared at the lock again when they had reached love sign.  
“I felt like this place was the best to tell you”, Alec started. “Ever since you left, there wasn't a day where I didn't think about you. You- you won't leave my mind. You never did. And I don't want you to. I love you, Magnus Bane. And I still do."

Magnus let his fingers glide over their lock.  
“Aku cinta kamu", he said. “I love you, too, Alexander.”  
He turned his face up to Alec and they kissed for a long time. A kiss that spoke of everything that they had lived through together in the past and everything they would get to live through together in the future. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
